1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for automatically removing the skin and trimming fat from a meat product and, more particularly, relates to an automatic skin removal and fat trimming device including an entry conveyor belt and an upper pressing conveyor belt which cooperate to move the meat product into contact with a rotating ridged cylinder which in turn forces the meat product into contact with a skin removal blade mounted adjacent the end of the entry conveyor belt, a second curved fat trimming blade then engages the meat product, the fat trimming blade positioned above the skin trimming blade and spaced therefrom to engage, cut and remove the fat lining surrounding the meat portion of the meat product, following which a meat removing conveyor belt mounted rearwardly of the skin trimming and fat trimming blades engages the meat product thus removing the meat product from the trimming device in cooperation with the rear section of the upper pressing conveyor belt which compresses and pulls the meat product through the device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art devices for trimming unwanted portions from meat products are well known in the art. However, these devices are generally limited to meat products which are generally flat and may have the undesirable characteristic when used with rounded meat products, of pivoting or skewing the product during trimming.
Consequently, the trimming of an unwanted portion from a generally rounded product such as, but not limited to, beef and pork butts and the like, had to be accomplished by hand either using a knife such as described in Dubors, U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,175 and Townsend, U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,753 or a manual membrane skinning machine. These methods are extremely dangerous and/or time-consuming. Repetitive motion injuries, carpal tunnel problems, hand fatigue and lacerations are all possibilities resulting from hand skinning.
Furthermore, a problem with those devices in the prior art is that there does not exist a single device which will both deskin and defat the meat product automatically. This results in the need for additional machine operators and additional opportunities for injuries to the operator or ruination of the meat product.
As is well understood in the art, pork butts are also commonly referred to as pork shoulders. Additionally, meat "muscles" or "products" as used herein are meant to refer broadly to beef and pork butts such as sirloin butt, butt tenderloin, bottom sirloin butt, pork shoulder butt, boston butt and the like, but may include other types of meat products. Materials to be trimmed may be fat, membranes, skin, connective tissue, gristle, bone, or the like. Machines for accomplishing this trimming are referred to in the art as "skinning", "derinding", "defatting" or "trimming" machines.
Currently, extended, rounded meat products such as beef and pork butts, must usually be trimmed by hand or using machines with a feed mechanism which tend to pivot the product during the trimming process. Either way, it is difficult to properly trim the meat product, and both methods create the possibility of serious injury to the hands of the operator including cumulative trauma injuries and carpal tunnel injuries. Additionally, when using these prior art machines, there is a large reduction in efficiency due to the time required to perform the numerous hand strokes required. Furthermore, the numerous hand strokes required may lead to repetitive motion injuries. Consequently, it is highly desirable to automate the process of trimming extended or rounded meat products. Such automation leads to enhanced ergonomics, increased yield and increased production.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved automatic skin removing and fat trimming device for meat products.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic skin removing and fat trimming device for meat products which is capable of automatically deskinning and trimming a variety of different sizes of beef or pork butts.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic skin removing and fat trimming device for meat products capable of automatically keeping the meat product in proper position during the trimming process.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic skin removing and fat trimming device which will accommodate a variety of blade shapes, sizes and types.
Finally, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic skin removing and fat trimming device for meat products which is durable in construction and safe and efficient in use.